Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologiae

Questions for Further Study

• 1.: The Summa theologiae is one of the great works of the medieval period. Why? What insights about the medieval mind-set does it hold for modern readers?
• 2.: Over the centuries, numerous cultures throughout the world have produced at least one major work that outlines a theology and a philosophy that influenced people well into the future. Select a milestone work from another culture—the Analects of Confucius, for example, or the Bhagavad Gita—and, in comparing it with the Summa theologiae, explain why each work had such an impact on the culture that produced it.
• 3.: What was “nominalism,” and what part did the nominalist philosophy play in Aquinas’s work?
• 4.: What was the relationship between Thomism and the emerging field of evolutionary science in the nineteenth century? Why did the Summa theologiae attain new relevance in light of evolutionary theory?
• 5.: Aquinas says that the purposes of every practical science are directed toward “eternal bliss.” Do you think that most contemporary scientists would agree or disagree with this statement? Explain.